Well I have been remiss, and off of here for a while, so I just spent a good chunk of my lunch reading this thread from the beginning. I wish I could have added this a little sooner, as it looks like we're doing Christmas wishes now (and that's where I will end this). I do agree that this has been very thoroughly hashed out, and I read some excellent points on both sides. I am sorry for opening a can of worms, but I do think it's a good idea to discuss these things before decisions are just made for us. Silence doesn't fix anything in this situation. Here is what I wanted to share. This woman lost both of her parents to a violent gunman when they were eating at a restaurant. Her dad tried to take down this gunman. Her mother wouldn't leave his side. However, she is speaking out against a mag ban of some sort, I assume in Texas where she hails from I believe. It's really worth watching.

We have an AR and we have high capacity mags. To be completely honest, I don't feel I need the high caps, and I don't mind reloading so much. (Yes it's a pain, but there are worse inconveniences) But in all seriousness, I wonder about the effectiveness of a mag restriction anyway. What, are they going to go door to door? ARs have been flying off the shelves. There are just too many out there for a ban to be effective. And honestly, I don't think it would be anyway if/when it happens. I can change mags super fast, it's not hard to learn

I wish I could think of a solution. I do believe that whatever type of solution might be out there does not involve a gun ban. It might be the opposite for all I know. But like I said, I really don't feel I need high caps, but I have decided to fall into ranks with those who would oppose a ban. I think it's a slippery slope. Just my opinion guys and gals.

Lastly, I am at work so I did not get to tune into the news conference yet. I am hoping they keep it available on their site for the latecomers!

I hope everyone has a healthy, safe and wonderful Christmas with your family and friends! I am glad to know all of you on here, and I look forward to reading what's new, and I value everyone's opinions. And just in case I am not back on here, have a very safe and fun New Year!

It's a shame that we have come to having an armed guard in our schools, but some copycat will surely do it again. It has to be done. It would be foolish not to.Cleveland Police will now be carrying floor plans of all the city schools on their squad car computers.

I'd even go beyond foolish and say that to NOT have armed security in our schools is irresponsible...CRIMINALLY irresponsible.

And don't EVER forget the threat from external forces. To me that's even a bigger threat than our home grown wack jobs. To quote Lt. Col Dave Grossman again..........

"Coming Soon: External Threats

Today we must not only prepare for juvenile mass murder, something that had never happened in human history until only recently, but we also must prepare for the external threat. Islamist fanatics have slaughtered children in their own religion — they have killed wantonly, mercilessly, and without regard for repercussion or regret of any kind. What do you think they’d think of killing our kids?

“Eight years ago they came and killed 3,000 of our citizens. Do we know what they’re going to do next? No! But one thing they’ve done in every country they’ve messed with is killing kids in schools,” Grossman said.

The latest al Qaeda charter states that “children are noble targets” and Osama bin Laden himself has said that “Russia is a preview for what we will do to America.”

What happened in Russia that we need to be concerned with in this context? In the town of Beslan on September 1, 2004 — the very day on which children across that country merrily make their return to school after the long summer break — radical Islamist terrorists from Chechnya took more than 1,000 teachers, mothers, and children hostage. When the three-day siege was over, more than 300 hostages had been killed, more than half of whom were children.

“If I could tackle every American and make them read one book to help them understand the terrorist’s plan, it would be Terror at Beslan by John Giduck. Beslan was just a dress rehearsal for what they’re planning to do to the United States,” he said."

Must we wait until something like this happens here before we wake up to what must be done? I pray not.

Here's a novel idea.....how about we take the 600 BILLION DOLLARS we send to countries like Pakistan every year and spend it on PROTECTING OUR CHILDREN instead??? 600 billion would pay for a lot of security!!!!

Depending on the news source you look at, response to the NRA's proposed measures are varied. I am inclined to believe the poll that says 53% of people are in favor, only because it wasn't the only issue on the docket, and there were still some people (though not a majority) calling for more gun control. We'll see in time. Just like anything, it will take a while for the cream to rise to the top on this one.

One response stood out to me:

"Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele called the NRA's remarks "very haunting and very disturbing."

"I don't even know where to begin," Steele said on MSNBC after the NRA's statement. "As a supporter of the Second Amendment and a supporter of the NRA, even though I'm not a member of the NRA, I just found it very haunting and very disturbing that our country now that are talking about arming our teachers and our principals in classrooms. I do not believe that's where the American people want to go.""

I think that, right there, could be construed as many Americans' biggest issue. It's not where we want to go. We don't want to see armed guards at our schools. It's too similar to Detroit city schools with their metal detectors. It means it must be a bad neighborhood. Or property values will go down because people won't move to that district. Or really, just flat-out, people don't want to believe it's a necessity. Head in the sand. Words are failing me right now, generally I am better at putting thoughts into words, but I suspect you catch my drift.

I friend of mine on facebook was horrified at the thought of armed people in his granddaughter's school. I just said we had to agree to disagree. I would be comforted if trained and armed individuals were keeping watch over my kids' schools. Now it's just time to see the public response. And even if the plan goes into action, how the funding will work. It's a levy I would vote for, but I can't say for sure about my neighbors.

I have a thousand other thoughts, like what the ideal ratio of student to defender might be, what new criteria prospective teachers must pass, (what are your thoughts Deebz?), etc etc etc. But we'll see how it goes and who spins what and how.

I did not see the entire NRA news conference but I got the gist of it and I liked what I heard. I fully support the idea of armed school security. As my previous remarks have indicated, I think further measures are needed as well.

I'm kind of kicking myself for getting involved in any of these topics because I think they pull us down rabbit trails and away from the ultimate issue. Heck, I made the mistake of remarking on the ridiculous notion that firefighters be used to combat school shooters with hoses (please don't comment on that here). Now, by my own doing, that idea has taken center stage in an otherwise good conversation. We are witnessing a horrific epidemic in this nation and we are arguing about the symptoms rather than yearning for a cure.

I hope to make these my last remarks on the topic and I hope they give everyone something to think about. We have created a nation that refuses to stand up to evil in our own midst. We stand by while millions of our children are murdered in abortion clinics. We smile and wink while thousands of hours of pornography are produced and sold (or given away). We refuse to acknowledge and protect marriage. We have waged wars on multiple fronts, sacrificed thousands of our sons and daughters, and killed countless civilians and enemies, yet most of us could not find those places on a map or name one fallen soldier. We worship athletes and starlets. We shove our children into day care and our parents into nursing homes because we cannot bear the thought of missing out on a dollar. Our kids spend more time in front of violent video games than around the dinner table. We sneer at the plight of the immigrant and the homeless. We refuse to publicly acknowledge God and we are slowly dismantling religious freedom. More people watched the "Victoria's Secret Christmas Show" than will attend religious services this Christmas!!! Yet we are shocked when individuals who are sick, lonely, angry and hopeless decide that taking a gun into a crowded places and going out in a blaze of destruction is a good idea. Given the messages sent by our society, I'm only shocked that it does not happen more often.

So who is to blame for all of this? I am. You are. It is a problem that we must all own up to. What is the solution? Individual conversion. Family conversion. Mass conversion! Conversion to what? Convert to God. Convert to kindness. Convert to mercy. In ways that are necessary first, ways that are possible next and eventually in ways that seem impossible! And understand that I am not talking about conversion from one faith to another. I'm talking about conversion from where we are today back to God. How does God want you to change? I don't know. That is for you to pray about and then respond to. I've got a lot of praying to do myself.

Blessings to you and our nation in these last few days of Advent and a Merry Christmas!